Jun2 28, 1921: Mrs. K.T. Lindy of Inglewood thinks jails are for punishment. Now that someone has given women prisoners a piano, she hopes they have to practice chromatic scales and not that evil jazz!

Lindy says: “I hope this reaches the ears of the matrons and they use the piano as an instrument of labor, punishment or instruction instead of pastime.”

If the woman was alive today I’d have to write a long response to her article. Basically I’d tell her that both Liberals and Conservatives who work at these types of jobs agree that the inmates need positive things to do to keep them out of trouble. Myself I worked in a maximum security mental health facility for years. Patients who came to us had to commit a crime and declared Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity. I have hundreds of stories locked in my mind that will never be told.

People who are committed to facilities like these need to be given activities that will improve their chances of staying out of trouble once they are released. The piano at that jail probably did not produce anyone famous but I’d bet it did provide a little relief from the daily tedium.

The building I worked at once had a print shop where the long term patients produced a newspaper called “The Argus”. We also had an education department where they could work on obtaining a GED or further their knowledge on college related subjects. We had a Vocational Education Department where patients learned to repair small engines. We even had a swimming pool and a bowling alley. When I retired everything but the bowling alley was gone due to budget cuts.